After insisting a year ago that such a mode was nearly impossible, offline play is coming to SimCity, Maxis has announced. It will be delivered in Update 10 for the game. A timeframe for that update was not included in the announcement.

"We are in the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that it's as polished as possible before we release it," Patrick Buechner, the general manager of Maxis' Emeryville studio, said in a statement.

"In Update 10, you can still play solo in Regions on your own, or in Multiplayer with people from around the world," Buechner said. "What's new is the Single Player Mode, which allows you to play the game Offline by yourself. And because your saved games in this mode are stored locally, you can save and load to your heart's content. Our team will be delivering a follow-up blog that will outline the full details in the near future so stay tuned."